Apartment Thief Suspect Taken into Custody in Loma Portal

With guns drawn and bearing a search warrant, a task force of law-enforcement officials knocked on the door of a West Point Loma Boulevard apartment on the morning of August 15.

Taken into custody at the low-income apartment at Mariner's Cove was a man who, in April of last year, had left his wallet behind after stealing and returning a Navy man's car. Also arrested was the man’s teen-aged sister.

The arrestee, reputedly a 2010 graduate of Point Loma High School, was said to target Mariner's Cove military families for gasoline siphoning, breaking and entering, and theft of personal property from homes and cars due to a perception that they were "easier to victimize because they were never home," said a security employee of the property.

Over $40,000 worth of laptops, jewelry, cash, and other electronics was reportedly stolen during the past few months from the 500-unit complex.